I'm doing OK. There are still lots of tests to be done.
In the early days of May 2026, a rare rodent-borne virus quietly followed a group of birdwatchers from the wilds of South America onto a cruise ship, reminding the world that nature's most ancient dangers do not respect the boundaries of leisure or modernity. Two British nationals, evacuated from the MV Hondius and hospitalized across two continents, are now showing signs of improvement — a measure of relief amid an outbreak that has claimed three lives and placed dozens under watchful isolation. Health authorities move carefully, aware that the virus carries a long and patient incubation, and that the full shape of this outbreak has not yet revealed itself.
- Three people are dead and five cases have been laboratory-confirmed, with eight suspected in total — all traced back to a birdwatching expedition through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay before the cruise began.
- A 69-year-old Briton in a Johannesburg intensive care unit and expedition guide Martin Anstee, 56, hospitalized in the Netherlands, are both improving — but neither knows when they will leave their isolation wards.
- The MV Hondius became a floating quarantine zone, with WHO and ECDC experts boarding to assess all passengers as the ship sailed toward Tenerife, where Spanish authorities granted cautious permission to anchor.
- Nineteen British passengers and four crew face a 45-day isolation protocol upon return, while contact tracers pursue anyone who shared a flight with the two Britons who disembarked early at Saint Helena.
- The Andes variant's incubation period of up to six — possibly eight — weeks means the outbreak is not yet closed, and the WHO warns that additional cases may still emerge in the weeks ahead.
A 69-year-old British passenger is recovering in intensive care in Johannesburg, while Martin Anstee, 56, an expedition guide and former police officer, lies stable in a hospital in the Netherlands. Both men were evacuated from the MV Hondius, a cruise ship at the center of a hantavirus outbreak in early May 2026. The WHO confirmed both are improving.
The outbreak traces back to a birdwatching trip through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay taken by two passengers before they boarded the ship. Hantavirus, a rare family of rodent-borne viruses, traveled with them. By Thursday, eight suspected cases had emerged, five confirmed by laboratory testing. Three people have died — the first aboard the ship on April 11, a second during onward travel, and a third also linked to the outbreak.
Health authorities evacuated the two British nationals on April 27 and May 1. Speaking from his isolation ward, Anstee told Sky News: "I'm doing OK. I'm not feeling too bad. There are still lots of tests to be done." WHO's Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove offered cautious optimism at a press briefing, confirming both patients were stable or improving.
The ship itself became a quarantine vessel. WHO and ECDC experts boarded to assess all passengers, and morale lifted as the Hondius set course for Tenerife in the Canary Islands, where Spanish authorities permitted it to anchor. Seven Britons had already disembarked at Saint Helena on April 24; two had returned to the UK and were isolating at home, with contact tracing underway for fellow passengers on their flights.
The Andes variant responsible carries an incubation period of up to six — possibly eight — weeks, meaning further cases remain possible. UK health officials recommended 45 days of isolation for all British passengers. For the wider public, authorities were reassuring: the UKHSA's chief scientific officer called the risk "really negligible" for those not directly involved, and the WHO's director-general noted that a comparable 2018–19 outbreak in Argentina produced 34 cases without becoming an epidemic. The coming weeks will determine whether the containment has held.
A 69-year-old British passenger lies in intensive care at a private hospital in Johannesburg, recovering. Across the Atlantic, Martin Anstee, 56, an expedition guide and former police officer, is stable in a hospital in the Netherlands. Both men were pulled from the MV Hondius, a cruise ship that became the center of a hantavirus outbreak in early May 2026, and both are improving, according to officials at the World Health Organization.
The outbreak began with a birdwatching expedition. Before boarding the ship in Argentina, two passengers traveled through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay—regions where hantavirus, a rare family of viruses carried by rodents, circulates in the wild. The virus made its way onto the vessel. By Thursday, eight suspected cases had emerged, five of them confirmed through laboratory testing. Three people have died.
The first death occurred on April 11, when a passenger died aboard the ship. Later, a Dutch woman who had been traveling with her husband's body—repatriating him after his death—became unwell during onward travel and died. A third death was also linked to the outbreak. The speed and severity of the cases prompted immediate action. Health authorities evacuated the two British nationals on April 27 and May 1, flying them to South Africa and the Netherlands respectively for specialist care.
Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove of the WHO delivered cautiously optimistic news at a press briefing. "The patient in South Africa is doing better," she said, "and the two patients in the Netherlands we hear are stable." Speaking from his hospital bed in isolation, Anstee told Sky News he was managing. "I'm doing OK. I'm not feeling too bad," he said. "There are still lots of tests to be done." He had no idea how long his hospitalization would last.
The ship itself became a floating quarantine zone. Two doctors and infectious disease experts from the WHO and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control boarded to assess everyone on the vessel. Morale improved once the ship began sailing toward Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands, where it was expected to arrive in the early hours of Sunday. Spanish authorities granted permission for the ship to anchor despite local concerns. The journey from Cape Verde took the ship across open ocean, away from populated areas.
British health officials faced a complex task. Nineteen British passengers and four British crew members were on the ship. Seven Britons had already disembarked at Saint Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic, on April 24. Two of those seven had returned to the UK and were isolating at home with no symptoms; contact tracing was underway for anyone who sat near them on flights. The remaining British passengers aboard—none showing symptoms but all being closely monitored—would be repatriated by charter flight once the ship docked in Tenerife.
The incubation period of the Andes virus variant responsible for this outbreak posed an ongoing concern. The virus can take up to six weeks, possibly eight weeks in extreme cases, to produce symptoms. This meant that more cases could emerge even as existing patients recovered. The UK Health Security Agency recommended 45 days of isolation for British passengers who had been on the ship. For the broader public, officials stressed the risk was negligible. "For people not directly involved in this cruise ship, the risk here is really negligible," said Prof. Robin May, the chief scientific officer at the UKHSA. The WHO's director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called it "a serious incident" but assessed the public health risk as low, noting that a similar outbreak in Argentina in 2018-19 had produced 34 cases without becoming an epidemic. Still, the coming weeks would reveal whether the isolation protocols and medical interventions had contained the spread.
Notable Quotes
The patient in South Africa is doing better, and the two patients in the Netherlands we hear are stable.— Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, World Health Organization
For people not directly involved in this cruise ship, the risk here is really negligible.— Prof. Robin May, UK Health Security Agency
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
How does a virus from rodents in South America end up on a ship in the Atlantic?
The passengers were on a birdwatching expedition through Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay before boarding. They likely encountered the virus in the field—hantavirus is carried by rodents, and people can become infected through contact with contaminated materials. Once infected, they boarded the ship, and the virus traveled with them.
Why did it take until April 27 to evacuate the first patient if someone died on April 11?
The first death was on the ship itself, so there was no evacuation needed then. But as more cases emerged and the severity became clear, authorities made the decision to get the sickest patients to specialized facilities. The evacuations happened once the medical picture became urgent enough to justify the logistics.
What's the actual danger here—is this going to spread widely?
The WHO doesn't think so. They've seen similar outbreaks before. The 2018-19 Argentina outbreak had 34 cases and didn't become an epidemic. This one has five confirmed cases. The real risk is among people who were in close contact with the infected—crew, other passengers, healthcare workers. For the general public, it's very low.
Why 45 days of isolation?
The virus has an incubation period of up to six weeks, sometimes eight in extreme cases. You can be infected and not show symptoms for that long. So if you were on the ship, you need to isolate for that entire window to make sure you're not carrying it asymptomatically and spreading it to others.
What about the woman in Amsterdam who came into contact with the Dutch passenger who died?
She was a flight attendant who had contact with the woman during travel. She came forward with potential symptoms. That's exactly the kind of secondary contact that health authorities are trying to trace and monitor. It's why contact tracing is so important in these situations.
Is the ship itself a problem now?
Not really. Two doctors and WHO experts are on board conducting assessments. The ship is sailing to Tenerife where it can dock safely. The isolation and monitoring happening on the vessel is actually containing the situation. Once people disembark, they'll be managed through isolation protocols on land.